Illness brings Moorpark girl ambitious goal

KAREN QUINCY LOBERG/THE STAR
Avery Sax, a sixth-grader at Chaparral Middle School in Moorpark, and her mother, Kimber Sax, make a trip Tuesday to the rePLANET recycling center in Thousand Oaks. They recycle bottles and cans to benefit the nonprofit Avery started to help siblings of children with chronic illnesses. Sax was diagnosed with an inoperable mass in her brain.

KAREN QUINCY LOBERG/THE STAR
Avery Sax, a sixth-grader at Chaparral Middle School in Moorpark, wears her favorite cowboy boots on a trip Tuesday to the rePLANET recycling center in Thousand Oaks. She and Kimber Sax, a single mother of three, recycle bottles and cans to benefit the nonprofit Avery started to help siblings of children with chronic illnesses.

Karen Quincy Loberg

KAREN QUINCY LOBERG/THE STAR
Avery Sax and her mother, Kimber Sax, finish their duties at the rePLANET recycling center in Thousand Oaks. They recycle bottles and cans to benefit the nonprofit Avery started.

KAREN QUINCY LOBERG/THE STAR
Kimber Sax and her daughter Avery return to their car at the rePLANET recycling center Tuesday in Thousand Oaks. The car was given to them by a friend after Avery's medical bills stripped the family down to the basics.

Sitting in a local cafe, 11-year-old Avery Sax discussed her wish to change the world. She hopes to start doing so with an ambitious goal of collecting 1 million recyclable bottles and cans by Earth Day next year.

Earth Day, April 22, is a special day for the little girl from Moorpark.

It was that day last year doctors told Avery there was little more they could do for her.

She was diagnosed with an inoperable arteriovenous malformation — a large mass of blood vessels — and had a brain hemorrhage that could have ended her life.

"All you can do from here on out is pray, and that she probably won't make it three more years," her mother, Kimber Sax, said about what the doctors told her that day.

Because the malformation couldn't be removed, she has received radiation treatment and is waiting these next few years to see if it helped.

Her mother was honest with Avery about her diagnosis. Hearing such news may have been upsetting to a child, but those words only motivated Avery to take action.

Avery said she not only wanted to be proactive with raising money for her own care, but also wanted to make a difference in the world.

She started a recycling effort and with the help of the community, collecting 100,000 cans and bottles in one year.

She is kicking off her new goal of collecting 1 million cans and bottles with a recycling event on her 12th birthday.

The event, called Skate with BrAvery, will run from noon to 6 p.m. Dec. 2 at Woodland Hills Ice, 6100 Topanga Canyon Blvd.

Next to the outdoor ice skating rink will be a rePLANET box truck, where she hopes to collect 25,000 cans and bottles on that day alone.

"I hope that everyone shows up with at least a little bag of recycling cans and bottles, and by the end of day, I'm hoping to fill up the entire box cart," Avery said.

Chabad of Moorpark also is encouraging visitors to bring bottles and cans to their fifth annual Hanukkah Festival, at 4:30 p.m. Dec. 9 at the Vons shopping center in Moorpark, 4219 Tierra Rejada Road.

The bottles and cans collected for Avery also will go to build what organizers say is the world's first-ever recycled menorah.

Avery described the first indications that she was sick. It was March 2011 when she suffered "the worst headache of my entire life."

Doctors first said she had the stomach flu, but an MRI and CT scan revealed she had an arteriovenous malformation hemorrhage.

Kimber Sax said Avery's malformation is large and deep, feeding healthier parts of her brain. Doctors used targeted radiation instead of removing the malformation.

"After 10 rounds of radiation last year, she's playing a waiting game. We've done the maximum amount of treatment that we can do for her, as a young, otherwise healthy girl, for three years. During that time, the hope is that it will shrink without too many consequences on the radiation," Kimber Sax said.

Meanwhile, Avery is at risk for another hemorrhage, which can be fatal.

She has experienced memory loss, and suffers through hot flashes and nausea. She also gets very tired, but Avery says she tries not to show her illness. In fact, many peers in her sixth-grade class at Chaparral Middle School don't know she is sick, and she would prefer to keep it that way.

"I live with great days and not-as-great days. I don't have bad days. I never think about dying. I think about living and how my day is going to go," she said with a smile.

Right now, her focus is on her recycling goal and living by the motto: "Wish it. Dream it. Do it."

Avery said she would like to have a Recycle with BrAvery box at every school, with the funds going back to help the students.

She said that she also would like to take the money she raises from recycling to help the siblings of children who are chronically or terminally ill. She saw how her illness affected her own brothers, Alexander, 13, and Evan, 9.

The family has had financial difficulties. Kimber Sax, a single mom, says she is in the process of trying to acquire private insurance for Avery's continued care.

Avery said she is looking forward to her skating event, and even likened skating to some of the things she and her family are going through.

"Skating looks beautiful," she said. "It's glamorous. You glide on the ice and it's so much fun. And then you fall and it's cold and hard and uncomfortable. But the only thing you can do is get back up. You need to have faith in yourself to get back up and to go on and live your life to the fullest."

Avery said she has faith that she will meet her goal and she hopes it will motivate others to do something positive.

"Most kids think they are one small person in this world, or like a speck of dust. But you can make a difference. It's important to put dreams into action," she said.

Details: The event will feature the kindling of a menorah made from recycled bottles, plus arts and crafts, a moon bounce, raffle prizes, music, dancing, and latkes and doughnuts; bring recyclable bottles and cans for donation